Pelicans fall to familiar foes following blockbuster trade

In a game that saw three Myrtle Beach Pelicans relocate to the opposing dugout following a blockbuster trade, the Pelicans lost to some familiar faces in a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Winston-Salem Dash.

Before the game, the Chicago Cubs announced the trade of outfielder Eloy Jimenez, the club’s top-rated prospect, and infielders Bryant Flete and Matt Rose to the Chicago White Sox. Jimenez, Flete and Rose all head to the Dash, an affiliate of the White Sox, along with RHP Dylan Cease in the deal that brings Major League LHP Jose Quintana to the Chicago Cubs.

In the game, Eddy Martinez’s homer Thursday was not enough as Jimenez stung the Pelicans with a two-run single in the third inning to lift the Winston-Salem Dash over the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 3-2 in front of 5,771 fans from TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark.

With Myrtle Beach (52-39, 8-12) leading 1-0, Winston-Salem (34-57, 10-11) rallied in the third inning. Joel Booker led off the frame with a single off Pelicans starter Duncan Robinson (0-2) before advancing to third on a base hit from Luis Alexander Basabe. With Bryant Flete batting, a wild pitch allowed Booker to score, which tied the game at one. Flete drew a walk before advancing to second on a fly out, Basabe also advanced to third on the play. With two outs in the frame, Jimenez delivered with a two-run single to left field to give Winston-Salem the 3-1 advantage.

Dash starter Brannon Easterling (6-5) was stellar as he allowed just two runs over six innings pitched. Victor Diaz and Ian Hamilton came out of the bullpen for Winston-Salem, and the tandem teamed up to toss three scoreless innings to secure the victory for the Dash. Hamilton retired all six men he faced for his second save.

With the score tied at zero in the first, Zack Short kicked off the bottom of the frame with a double. P.J. Higgins laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Short to third before scoring on a sacrifice fly from Trent Giambrone to give the Birds the early 1-0 lead.

After a trio of runs scored for the Dash in the top of the third, Martinez slammed a solo home run, his 10th of the season, to make the score 3-2.

James Norwood and David Berg both tossed two scoreless innings for the Pelicans out of the bullpen.

Myrtle Beach will play the third game of their four-game set with the Dash on Friday at 7:05 p.m.